Anderton denial of 'M.P. bashing’ in election bid

Press, 18 April 1979, Page 4

Anderton denial of 'M.P. bashing’ in election bid

[PA Auckland I One of the main contenders for the presidency of , the Labour Party, Mr J. P. [Anderton, has denied that he was “bashing M.P.s” to get himself elected. The accusation had been 'made recently by the secretary of the Workers' Union, 'Mr D. J. Duggan, after another contender, Mr H. S. McCaffley, announced he :had withdrawn his candidacy jin favour of Mr Anderton. | Mr McCaffley said he was I sure .most unions would fall ~ in behind Mr Anderton at i the ballot. | However, in his commentsj [on “M..P bashing” Mr Dug-: •jgan said several of the big., [unions affiliated to the party! 'were behind Mr J. A. Wai-! ding, the member of Parlia[ment for Palmerston North land the other main contender for the presidency. 1 Mr Anderton said Mr DugIgan was forgetting that the [feeling it was more desirable

to have someone other than an M.P as president was expressed by the party — not just by Mr Anderton himself. "As far as I am aware ever) regional conference has supported the principle of non-Parliamentary leadership.” said Mr Anderton. Unions affiliated to the party, including the Workers’ Union, had had voting rights at those conferences. Mr Anderton said it was idle for anyone to speculate on his chances for the presidency as that matter would become obvious only at the ballot at the party confer-, [ence from May 14 to 18 in [Wellington. Support for Mr Duggan | came from another ‘Contender for the junior vice-; [presidency, Mr G. Leckey, :who is a member of the Waterside Workers’ Union. ,Mr Leckey said he knew of, man)' union members who [would not vote for Mr AnderIton.

For Mr McCaffley to say that most unions would support Mr Anderton was "hogwash.” he said. He and others felt that it was not in the party's interest to have a president who was not a member of Parliament. The last non-parliamentarv president was Sir (.harks Bennett, he said and those campaigning for a nonparliamentarv successor to Mr A J. Faulkner were the same people who had advocated the change to an M.P. as president all those vears ago. It was cheaper for the party to have an M.P. as president. He had to be very mobile and make many expensive telephone calls if he was to do his job properly. An M.P. ; could do both free of charge. A non-parliamentarian would also have to be paid for the job and such a president would cost the party 830.000 a year with travel and other charges added on, Mr Leckey said.